- 2 days ago
A Place In The Sun
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00:00Today I'm looking for a new home in Spain for the Ners family from Norfolk.
00:04I'm looking in the stunning Granada region,
00:07where property prices are some of the best value in the whole of Andalusia.
00:37Today's house hunters Stephen and Trudy are looking for a new family home
00:41away from the reign of Norfolk slain.
00:44Itching to renovate their own rural place abroad,
00:46are these bald Brits ready for a little house on the prairie?
00:50Yeah, very unexpected really.
00:52Or will they have to take the high road?
00:54Small.
00:56Yeah?
00:57Very small.
00:59Stephen and Trudy, nurse from Norfolk,
01:01want a change for them and their two young children.
01:04Fed up with the drudgery of sludgy streets and 95 jobs,
01:07they want to pack up the bags, pick up the kids,
01:10and start living la vida loca in Spain.
01:13To afford this lifestyle change, they're selling their house back home.
01:17With the money they make from that,
01:18they want to do up their own family home in the sun.
01:21They've already built one house at home,
01:23so now they're up for a new challenge.
01:28Granada is one of Spain's most famous cities.
01:30Situated in the east of the Andalusia region,
01:33the Sierra Nevada mountains border the province of Granada to the south.
01:38One of the world's most famous Arabic monuments is here.
01:42The Alhambra Palace is a vast structure built in stages from the 9th century.
01:46Today, around 2 million people come each year to admire it.
01:51Granada is also famous for its olive oil, produced by the van load.
01:55The 800,000 residents, not to mention the tourists,
01:58are all partial to a drop of the good stuff.
02:00The property market here is, of course, on the up,
02:04and prices rose 24% last year.
02:07As the southern costas fill up with relocating foreigners,
02:10expats are increasingly looking inland.
02:12Still, prices here are among the lowest in the region,
02:16with a habitable townhouse starting at around £50,000.
02:20Granada is also home to many of the region's famous catas cuevas, or cave houses.
02:26Stephen and Trudy have a budget of £120,000,
02:30which is to include all renovation costs.
02:32So, tell me, why have you decided now's the time to sell up in the UK and move to Spain?
02:37We're fed up with the weather. We love the sunshine.
02:39Since we've been 18, we've travelled abroad together,
02:41and we absolutely love the outside life.
02:44Why Granada?
02:45Basically, we've seen it in books and read about it,
02:47and it's lovely in green, I love the scenery.
02:50The locals sound very friendly.
02:51Beautiful mountains, and you've still got all the sunshine.
02:54Have you done much research on this region?
02:56Yeah, we've looked on the internet,
02:57and we've seen some cave houses, which look quite interesting.
03:02Yeah, it'd be nice to have a look.
03:03Yeah, and just really, really, you know, curious what they're like, actually.
03:06Okay, well, see what I can do.
03:08Tell me about your children. You've got two kids, haven't you?
03:10Tara's 10, Francis is 8.
03:12They're both lively and outgoing,
03:14and I think it'd be good to go in a Spanish school for them to learn the Spanish.
03:18Absolutely, and they can teach you.
03:19Yes.
03:21Francis, he's wanted a quad bike for ages,
03:24so ideally somewhere with a bit of land so he can ride a quad bike about.
03:29A swimming pool, they said they'd like, didn't they?
03:31Yeah, yeah, definitely a swimming pool.
03:32So tell me about the property that you're hoping to buy here.
03:35Ideally, we'd need at least four bedrooms.
03:37About an acre of land with lovely views all around.
03:41Do you plan on working when you move over here?
03:43Sort of.
03:44Sort of.
03:45The house we're selling at the moment,
03:47we finished building about two years ago, a self-built project.
03:50Okay.
03:50So I've overseen the building of it, and quite enjoyed doing that.
03:53So out here, possibly a renovation project,
03:55or at some point, possibly a total build would be...
04:00Really?
04:01...that I'd like to have a go at.
04:01Yeah, I'd like to use that as a job, basically.
04:03Okay, so how do you feel about him going off to work?
04:06I'd go and help him.
04:07Yeah?
04:07Yeah.
04:07Well, I've managed to line up a variety of properties
04:10that hopefully are going to match both your requirements of a family home
04:13and offer you some interesting building propositions.
04:17Cool.
04:17Lovely.
04:17Well, they've already built one house
04:19and are clearly not shy of doing it again.
04:22But they've never been to Granada before.
04:24Do they know what renovation really means out here?
04:27There's only one way to find out.
04:30Because Stephen and Trudy are keen on seeing a house with development potential,
04:34I'm starting their search in the pretty village of Isnaov,
04:38just 20 minutes north of Granada.
04:40This village is fast becoming one of Granada's satellite towns,
04:43with around 200 people commuting to the city every day.
04:47Close to town, the Sierra de Huerta National Park
04:50and the watering hot spot of Lane Cabilla,
04:53this area offers a great balance between town and country living.
04:57While they said they wanted rural rather than town,
05:00I want to start things off with a renovation project
05:02with the specifications Stephen and Trudy asked for
05:05in a location as promising as this one.
05:08I think this house could be turned into a really good family home
05:11and it has a very interesting business venture attached.
05:14But potential is the key word.
05:17This house has four bedrooms, a large garden and incredible views across the valley.
05:22It's on the market for £75,000.
05:24OK, so I realise I might be throwing you in at the deep end a little bit with this first
05:28house.
05:29So this is the living, dining, kitchen area.
05:34Small.
05:35Yeah?
05:36Very small.
05:38Well, you could certainly knock through this wall,
05:40open it up into the kitchen, that'll give you more space.
05:42Yeah.
05:43So you're not too put off by the current state, is it?
05:45Because it hasn't been lived in for quite some time.
05:47You can see that.
05:48Yeah.
05:49Oh no, we're prepared to do some work and decorating and good clean-up.
05:54Well, I think there's quite a lot of that.
05:55And a good hammer, I think, as well.
05:57Yeah.
05:58So you've actually got more living space through here.
06:01Yeah, you could knock right through and make one big room.
06:05You've got two bedrooms through there.
06:08Your bathroom is there.
06:10You've got further two rooms here.
06:12There's about seven rooms to play with.
06:14So there's quite a lot of space, isn't there?
06:15Yeah, it is.
06:16While the house isn't up to scratch at the moment,
06:19the sheer size of it for such a reasonable price tag
06:21means that it does have bags of potential.
06:24And that is just quite a lovely deal, I think.
06:27Yeah, such lovely.
06:29So is it bigger than you thought?
06:31Do you think it was a bit small when you first came in?
06:32What are your overall thoughts on it now?
06:34Overall, actually, it's very big.
06:36So, Stephen, you said that you were interested in a building project.
06:40Yeah.
06:40OK, so right from the Hermitage down there,
06:43across the railway tracks, all the way up there,
06:45is two acres of land.
06:46That comes included in the price of the house.
06:50Yeah.
06:51Best of all, it's designated building land.
06:54Right.
06:55So, providing you get the right permissions from the local town hall,
06:59you could build eight properties on here and sell them on.
07:02Could be a very exciting project.
07:05And I got a quote from a local builder that
07:07to build one property would cost you around £35,000,
07:10and you could double it if you sold it on.
07:13Double your money on.
07:14It's a way to make a living.
07:16Yeah.
07:16Hasting here.
07:18Trudy's not looking as excited as you, Stephen.
07:20No, I'm just thinking, oh no, this is where I'll be living.
07:26To get a house with so much land near the city
07:28with permission to build is an extremely rare find in this area.
07:33I like it, but I don't love it.
07:36No, gorgeous things.
07:38No, I think it could make a very interesting project,
07:41but that's all it would be, I think, a project.
07:43I wouldn't, don't think we could live here as a family.
07:45Not as a family safely, no.
07:47No.
07:47Too many dangers with the rail track and the drop on the roadside.
07:51Right, so you had a bit of a chance to think about it.
07:53Have you managed to convince Trudy
07:55this is the building project for you, or not?
07:57No, I think I've managed to talk myself out of it, actually.
08:00Oh, really? What are your thoughts?
08:02I think it's just too big a project possibly to take on.
08:06Well, I did want to start Stephen and Trudy off
08:08with a house that needed a lot of work
08:10to get an idea of how much work they're up for.
08:13And Trudy, what do you think?
08:15I think it would be too much to do, yeah.
08:18And you wouldn't be happy living in that house anyway, would you?
08:21No, definitely not.
08:21No, all right, OK, so I haven't won you over with this one.
08:25Unfortunately, the next house I had lined up for Stephen and Trudy
08:28was suddenly sold.
08:29After making a few calls, I began to hear the same story.
08:33Renovation projects of land are flying off the market.
08:36But it's not all bad news.
08:39Stephen and Trudy want to see a rural property,
08:41and, as always, I aim to please.
08:43After some hunting around, I found a house within their guidelines
08:47in Granada's main olive-grown area of La Vega.
08:52Montefrio, meaning Cold Mountain, is one of the area's key towns.
08:57Looking out over rolling olive groves,
08:59this is a traditional whitewashed village
09:01topped off by an enormous rocky outcrop and a town church,
09:05originally built on the foundations of Amorish Fort.
09:09Thanks to a new international airport and, of course,
09:11an influx of risk to the region,
09:13property in the area has boomed.
09:15Prices are up 300% in the last three years.
09:19That does mean, however, that the area is a good investment.
09:23Stephen and Trudy would be more than likely
09:24to make their money back on any work done to a house here.
09:27It's a little bit more rural for you.
09:29It's really lovely, yeah.
09:31The house I found Stephen and Trudy
09:33is a traditional Andalusian farmhouse, or cortijo,
09:36with its very own olive groves.
09:38Good first impressions?
09:40Yeah.
09:40Yep, very nice.
09:41It's certainly got the land that you asked for around there, hasn't it?
09:44Yeah, a lot.
09:47Hard to tell the size of it from the outside, isn't it?
09:49Yeah, it doesn't look too big from there.
09:51It's tucked away behind the trees.
09:53The cortijo has three bedrooms,
09:55two outbuildings to convert,
09:57and a rustic kitchen,
09:58but there's no bathroom at the moment.
10:00It's on the market at £122,000.
10:04I like this entrance.
10:05It's very cute, this patio, isn't it?
10:07Yeah, it's very nice.
10:07Cobbled and...
10:08OK, so this would be your compact bijou living room.
10:14Very compact.
10:16Really tiny.
10:18It is a little bit on the small side,
10:19but, I mean, very typical of a lot of the traditional properties
10:22that I've looked at.
10:23The room sizes do tend to be quite small.
10:25And the door there and the window frames,
10:28they're metal, they're originally wooden,
10:30but apparently Fiona has kept all the wooden doors and frames.
10:33You can put them in the storeroom, so, yeah.
10:34If you did want to get that restored,
10:36it would cost you about £800,
10:38but it would certainly have a lot more charm, wouldn't it,
10:40in character if you did that?
10:41Yeah.
10:42OK, so, first room, first impressions.
10:46Small, but sweet.
10:47Nice, yeah, yeah, it is.
10:49OK, so we've got a bedroom here,
10:51which is a pretty good size.
10:53Not a bad size.
10:55So, you've got another double room,
10:57same size as downstairs.
10:58Yeah.
10:59And here's your master bedroom.
11:02Oh, wow.
11:02These things are fantastic, aren't they?
11:05Yes.
11:06I mean, you've got quite an original picture going on over here.
11:08Yeah, that's the jacuzzi.
11:10Yes, if you'd like.
11:13It's actually where they used to grind the grain for the animal feed.
11:17Right.
11:17So, it's not necessarily useful in a bedroom these days.
11:20No.
11:21No.
11:21It's very cute, isn't it?
11:22It's like a little gingerbread house.
11:24It is, it is cute.
11:24It's like a doll's house, it really is.
11:27But we have to cross over the patio to get to it.
11:30It's actually separate from the house, but this is your kitchen.
11:34It's small, but I suppose you could put a few units in.
11:38It is quite small, but I do have a solution for both making this kitchen bigger and give
11:43you that all-important bathroom.
11:44So, if you follow me back out here.
11:48So, traditionally, that would have been your bath.
11:51Oh, lovely.
11:52Not very practical, is it?
11:53No.
11:53So, my plan would be to convert these storerooms here.
11:59Uh-huh.
11:59You could extend right through into the kitchen and into the living room and double your living
12:05space.
12:08To convert, the storage rooms would cost around £10,000.
12:11That would include putting in a new bathroom and kitchen, as well as fixing the dilapidated
12:16roof.
12:17Well, I think this house is a real find.
12:20It's certainly got everything that Stephen and Trudy are after, a rural setting and traditional
12:24style.
12:25I just hope that they can really see the potential to convert this into their ideal family home.
12:30Oh, the position, location is absolutely perfect.
12:34Just, it's a doll's house.
12:36It's a beautiful little house, lovely.
12:37I think just about big enough for a doll, basically.
12:41So, tell me, do you think you could get this house to work for you?
12:45Um, we're thinking, still thinking, a bit too small.
12:49Trudy, what do you think?
12:50I love it.
12:51It would make a perfect holiday home, but I don't feel that's big enough to live in.
12:56Sadly, you are going to probably have to think about compromising on some of your priorities,
13:00but hold that thought for now, because I've got something completely different to show
13:05you next.
13:05All right.
13:05Cool.
13:06Intrigued?
13:07Yes.
13:07Too big, too small, but not just right.
13:11Will our Goldilocks want any of the houses for themselves and their two bears?
13:14Yeah, very good.
13:15It's very nice.
13:16Very intriguing, isn't it?
13:17It is.
13:17Or are they going to have to reconsider their fairytale ideals?
13:22Different.
13:22Certainly.
13:23We're going to need some work on that one, I think.
13:37We're going to need some work on that one, I think.
13:55And after viewing two houses, are they going to have to rethink some of their high property
13:59hopes?
14:04As nothing's grabbed Stephen and Trudy so far, I want to bear them away from the normal property
14:09shopping trip and show them something a little unusual.
14:12The area of Guadix is unlike any other part of the region.
14:16During the Moorish occupation, this city was more important to the province than Granada.
14:21This area is also where Granada's famous cave houses are found.
14:25Entire communities live in homes carved into the hillside, where there are also cave shops,
14:31cave restaurants, and even a cave theatre.
14:34Because Stephen and Trudy wanted to see one of these properties, as well as having a project
14:38to get stuck into themselves, I found them an exceptional house with its very own surprise.
14:44Well, I promised you a change of scenery.
14:47What do you think of all of this?
14:48It's like a film set, isn't it?
14:50It is, isn't it?
14:50It's definitely different.
14:52Yeah.
14:52Well, this is the Guadix region, where there are 3,000 cave houses.
14:583,000?
14:58Oh, yes.
14:59And you said to me you quite liked the idea of looking around one, didn't you?
15:02Yes.
15:03So, this is the one we're going to look around.
15:05Right.
15:06What do you think?
15:06It's definitely different.
15:08This catequeva has 3 bedrooms, open-plan kitchen, dining area, and a patio with a barbecue.
15:13It's on the market at £61,000.
15:17So, finally, your first cave house is revealed.
15:21Wow.
15:22Wow.
15:23That's lovely.
15:24It's a lot bigger than it looks from outside.
15:26It is, isn't it?
15:27I think they've got so many nice features.
15:28I like what they've done with the kitchen, especially with those sinks.
15:31It's like a little Freddie Flintstone kitchen, isn't it?
15:33It is, isn't it?
15:34It's very cute.
15:35So, good first impressions.
15:37Yeah, very good.
15:38It's very nice.
15:39So, this is being used as a TV room.
15:41Amazing, really.
15:42I've seen photos of them, but they just don't do it justice.
15:46No.
15:46It's so different to what you'd imagine.
15:48And they feel nice and cool, don't they?
15:50So cool.
15:51I mean, that's what the locals say.
15:52The best thing about living in cave houses is that they maintain a constant temperature of 18 degrees.
15:56So, it's always nice and cool.
15:58You've actually got three bedrooms here.
16:01But as this is a cave house, they do all lead off each other.
16:05Would that be a bit of a problem for you?
16:09Possibly.
16:10Not a lot of privacy.
16:10Not a lot of privacy, no.
16:12Well, I've got one solution for this room, anyway.
16:14To make this more private, you could block off that entrance there and knock in another door through to the
16:20breakfast area.
16:21The other option would be to think about extending further back into the cave.
16:26You'd need to get an expert cave surveyor to come and see the deeds of the property to see how
16:31far back you can extend.
16:32Right.
16:33And if you could, an extra room is going to cost you around £2,000.
16:36Is that all?
16:37It's not bad, is it?
16:38You wouldn't get a room anywhere else for £2,000.
16:40Exactly.
16:40They seem to like it so far, and what will they make of this next bit?
16:44Now, I think the price tag of £61,000 is actually really good value for that renovated cave house, isn't
16:50it?
16:50Yeah.
16:51So you can go one better than that?
16:53Because this particular offer is buy one, get one free.
16:57Really?
16:57Not only do you get that renovated cave house, but you also get that unrenovated cave house for the same
17:03price.
17:04Wow.
17:04But totally throwing something completely different tacky there.
17:07Yeah, I wasn't expecting that at all.
17:09No.
17:10We'll go and have a nose in there, and then let me know who thinks.
17:15Well, yeah.
17:16Different.
17:18Certainly.
17:19I'm going to need some work on that one, I think.
17:21Yeah, use your imagination.
17:23To renovate the second cave, including putting in ventilation, a kitchen, bathroom, and decorating, would cost around £35,000.
17:31With that, Stephen and Trudy would still be way under budget.
17:36So what did you think in there?
17:38Is it something you'd like to hackle?
17:40Yeah, I think it would be a challenge.
17:42Yeah.
17:42A bit dark at the moment, but...
17:43Yeah.
17:44I think it'd be really worth having a look at.
17:47Excellent.
17:47So you can definitely see the potential here for an investment.
17:50Yeah.
17:50Good.
17:51For the last leg of our search, I've got two houses lined up.
17:54Having seen what's available in Granada, I want Stephen and Trudy to choose their final house.
17:58I can either take you to see a farmhouse back in the olive-growing region, it's slightly bigger with a
18:04little bit more land, or we can go further south in the region and see a completely different option, totally
18:10renovated, ready to move into tomorrow, it's got an investment potential attached as well.
18:15But it is in a more expensive area, and it would blow your budget.
18:19It's on the market at 140,000 pounds.
18:21It's on the market at 140,000 pounds.
18:22Blow the budget.
18:23I shouldn't even think about that.
18:53Okay, so blowing the budget it is.
19:14This house has three bedrooms, a garden, and a self-contained studio.
19:21It's on the market at 140,000 pounds.
19:25First of all, I'm going to just show you the garden, because it's so pretty.
19:30Oh, yeah, it's lovely, isn't it?
19:31Yeah, it is nice.
19:32And over there, it does look like a swimming pool.
19:35Right.
19:35But it's not.
19:36It's actually a water deposit.
19:38That irrigates your garden here.
19:40Mm-hmm.
19:40All right.
19:40And here you've got a really attractive sitting area.
19:44Oh, yeah, it's lovely.
19:44Yeah, quite nice for barbecues out here, couldn't you see?
19:46So on the inside, it's quite a big space.
19:51Yeah, very nice.
19:52Yeah, it's quite nice, actually.
19:53Different.
19:54Yeah, it's certainly different.
19:55And what about the workmanship?
19:56Is it up to scratch?
19:58It looks pretty good, actually.
19:59Yeah.
19:59Yeah, possibly some of the best I've seen.
20:02I really like the way this one's been renovated, because she's put this added feature of the
20:05skylight up there.
20:07Oh, yeah.
20:07She's made out of car windows.
20:09Yeah, you can see that.
20:11I'm not sure if you can still open them.
20:12You've got one bedroom here, which I thought would be ideal little girls' room.
20:17Very nice.
20:18It's lovely.
20:18I like the little shutters on the windows.
20:19Yeah, sweet, aren't they?
20:20So this room is currently being used as a workshop, but what would you use it for?
20:26Make a nice little snub, put a cornicelli in there, couldn't you?
20:29Mm-hmm.
20:29Through there is your bathroom, and through there is what might probably be your room.
20:36Oh, that's not a bad-sized room.
20:38That's a nice size.
20:39Now, once again, I've saved the best to last.
20:43A little surprise for you.
20:44Uh-huh.
20:45And this is your third bedroom.
20:49Wow.
20:50That's different.
20:52That's...
20:53Yeah, very unexpected, really.
20:55So, this is self-contained apartments, because you've also got a bathroom and a kitchen area here.
21:02Right.
21:02Mm-hmm.
21:02I think possibly make it all into one big house.
21:05Make it all together, yeah, sort of separate.
21:08The separate studio could be rented out year-round, and during the high season would fetch as much as £200
21:14a week.
21:15On their move out to Spain, this would provide an immediate income for Stephen and Trudy.
21:20Amazing, really.
21:21It's really cute.
21:22It's lovely.
21:22Yeah, it's a lot bigger than what I thought it was going to be.
21:25I think house-wise, I think this sort of size we could make work, but the garden is a bit
21:32too small, I think.
21:33If you could kick it back a few more trees back that way, that would be lovely, so you could
21:37get the quad bike round.
21:39Yeah.
21:40Having seen most of the houses that were on their wish list, I thought I'd sit Stephen and Trudy down
21:44to see what they thought of the property on their first trip to Granada.
21:47So, I brought you to this house because it's ready to move into and easy to adapt to your needs,
21:53so what do you think of it?
21:54It's very nice, yeah. It's the best house I think we've seen.
21:58It's lovely, yeah.
21:59Knocking through. We make it big enough, and I think we could live here, but it's a lovely garden, and
22:04I don't think you'd actually ruin it by trying to put a pool in it.
22:07Tower and France is really one of the pools.
22:10Okay, so the Cape House, fun to look around. Obviously, it didn't have the land, but it was more of
22:15an investment, so is that something you might consider?
22:18Yeah, they still intrigue me, the Cape House. I think there's something that, when we eventually get here, that would
22:23be something that I would look at to possibly try and renovate.
22:27I'd love to bring them there for a holiday, I think.
22:30Rent one out.
22:30Rent one out, yeah.
22:31Yeah. So, out of all four properties, what's been your overview? What are you taking away from it?
22:37I'd love to pick this one up and put in the olive grove.
22:40Like you say, bits from all of them you could put together would possibly make our perfect house.
22:46Well, that's one thing.
22:47Yeah, and the area. You've certainly shown us the areas. We want to live.
22:52We've been in love with the area. It's gorgeous.
22:54What are you going to do next?
22:55I think we're going to head back home, pick the children up as soon as the school holidays start, and
23:03bring them back out here.
23:04Come and rent out here and see what we can find.
23:06Well, best of luck with your search. I'm sure you'll find it eventually, and let me know if you do.
23:10Will do. Thank you.
23:12When thinking of moving abroad, there's so much to take into consideration that compromises often need to be made.
23:18While Stephen and Trudy haven't found the house they want this time, at least they know where they want to
23:23be, and the kind of house they can get here.
23:26I think Granada offers the best of both worlds.
23:29You've got a thriving, accessible city, surrounded by beautiful countryside, where property is still really good value for money.
23:36I hope you've enjoyed house hunting with me, and I'll see you again soon.
23:39We'll see you again soon.
24:09We'll see you again soon.
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